INDIANAPOLIS – The consensus of mower manufacturers for the last few years has been that the market is large enough to support the nearly three dozen companies building commercial mowers right now over the long term. That sentiment didn’t discourage long-time consumer manufacturer Cub Cadet from entering the market with a number of commercial mowers and hand-held power tools at this year’s Green Industry Expo (GIE).
"As we look to the future, we have to look at what markets are growing," noted Andy Outcalt, vice president of independent retail sales for Cub Cadet, Cleveland, Ohio. "Obviously, landscape is a growing market, and we don’t see that trend stopping any time soon."
Outcalt admitted that Cub Cadet Commercial is entering an extremely competitive marketplace that has been slowly consolidating in recent years, but he said the company has conducted extensive market research over the past 18 months as it has developed its strategy and built its first products. "We’ve worked hard to identify what really matters to the commercial landscape contractors, and we’re building a program around that," he explained. "We’re going to offer a three-year warranty on parts and a one-year warranty on labor, in addition to a strong loaner/demo program."
At the same time, the company has focused on its product development efforts, and the company’s army-themed booth at GIE was developed to emphasize its new zero-turn, mid-mount riding mower, "The Tank." "Our mowers are designed with the operators in mind so they can provide the quality of cut they need and make sure they keep on mowing," Outcalt noted. In addition, the company introduced new dual-hydrostatic and gear-driven walk-behind mowers, string trimmers, stick edgers, blowers, hedge trimmers and pressure washers.
A probable challenge for the new effort will be convincing commercial landscape professionals that the name Cub Cadet doesn’t have to mean consumer-type equipment, and Cub Cadet Commercial may not necessarily be offered through traditionally Cub Cadet dealers. "Our Cub Cadet dealers will certainly be considered for the Cub Cadet Commercial line, but the only ones that will qualify to carry this equipment will be the ones who commit to the commercial customer," he explained. "They need to commit to offering overnight parts service and being open on weekends when contractors need them to be open, for example."
Cub Cadet Commercial has already hired eight field representatives to work across the country, and Outcalt said end users will benefit from Cub Cadet Commercial’s focused development efforts since commercial customers are more similar to each other than most consumers are. "This means we can get our engineers more focus on areas of impact, such as improving blade tip speed or improving the discharge design if we need to," he pointed out.
One point of interest about the new launch is that the Cub Cadet Commercial operation, which is owned by MTD, is now a competitor of sister division MTD Pro. The MTD Pro brand is manufactured by Commercial Turf Products, a two-year-old joint venture between MTD and LESCO, Cleveland, Ohio. Although this partnership is still in its infancy, Commercial Turf Products has presented many challenges and financial losses thus far.
"MTD Pro is not dead or dying, but we wanted to get more focused," Outcalt noted, adding that LESCO doesn’t have any ownership interest in the Cub Cadet Commercial line. "Pro didn’t hit the mark.
"We want to be known as the builder of the best cutting machine on the market and as a company that supports landscape contractors by keeping them mowing," Outcalt concluded.
For more information about the Cub Cadet Commercial line, visit the web site designed for the line at www.cubcommercial.com.
